Pac-12 recruiting roundup: UCLA loses four-star tailback, Utah’s huge weekend and Oregon’s “silent pledge”

The Hotline is delighted to provide Pac-12 fans with a weekly dive into the recruiting process through the eyes and ears of Brandon Huffman, the Seattle-based national recruiting analyst for 247Sports.

The following information, in his words, was provided to the Hotline on Oct. 13 …

*** There were a couple of commitments to the Pac-12 this week and one huge de-commitment.

In what has been a recurring theme these last few years, the West Coast has seen many of its top players leave the region to play in the SEC.

That’s a huge blow to the Bruins, who are feeling good with a 6-0 start but now lose their highest-rated recruit to the Bulldogs, who have had a nice little run of success at running back.

That continues to be a thorn in the side of the West Coast schools, which lose key recruits who were either leaning toward the Pac-12 or committed to the Pac-12.

Despite USC and UCLA being a combined 12-0, they are still losing recruits.

*** On the flip side, Utah landed the No. 2 player in the state of Idaho: three-star tight end C.J. Jacobsen, whose dad, Chad, played for the Utes in the 1990s during the tenure of coach Ron McBribe.

Jacobsen makes it four consecutive years that one of the top players in Idaho will play for Utah. He had Brigham Young, Wisconsin, N.C. State, Louisville and Arizona State in his final group.

That’s not the only news from the Utes, who have USC in town this weekend for a huge game. They have new uniforms, and it might be their biggest recruiting weekend ever under Kyle Whittingham.

Let’s start with three official visitors: three-star receiver Mikey Matthews from Mission Viejo, California, three-star offensive tackle Tavake Tuikolovatu from Fontana, and four-star running back John Randle from Kansas.

Two of Utah’s top offensive line targets are coming for unofficial visits. In fact, they are the highest-rated uncommitted offensive linemen in the west: four-star tackle Caleb Lomu from Gilbert, Ariz., and Spencer Fano, a four-star tackle from Provo. Both of them are All-American selections and both took official visits in June.

The Utes also have three-star cornerback Smith Snowden on campus. He and Fano have BYU ties. Fano’s brother plays for the Cougars, and Snowden’s father played at BYU. But the Utes are trying to make a push there.

They also will have a large number of unofficial visits, and the name at the top of the list is three-star receiver Gatlin Bair, the top prospect in Idaho in the class of 2024. He’s an elite sprinter with two older brothers who are SEC decathletes. That’s a big visit to get Bair, who has offers from across the country

** The Utes are also recruiting a couple of Stanford commits. One is four-star edge Hunter Clegg from American Fork, Utah, and the other is four-star prospect Walker Lyons, who’s from Folsom, California and is the fifth-ranked tight end in the country in the 247Sports composite.

While Stanford landed a player — and more on that in a moment — it now has to watch two of its top commitments take visits to Utah.

*** Oregon picked up a couple of commitments, one being a top kicker nationally in two-star prospect Grant Meadors from Bakersfield.

But the bigger development is three-star inside linebacker Bryce Boulton, who had been a silent pledge to the Ducks since his camp with them in the summer. The Palm Desert product announced his commitment over the weekend.

*** Stanford got a commitment late last week. Despite the miserable season on the field, recruiting is going well for the Cardinal, which landed three-star edge Tre Williams from Dallas.

*** Oregon State will host a couple of official visitors his weekend, with three-star athlete Ty Benefield from Southern California and Caleb Komolafe, a three-star safety out of Texas who is currently committed to Memphis.

The Beavers also have one of the top pass rushers in the country on campus in unrated edge Nikko Taylor, who’s from Hutchinson (Kansas) Community College.

*** Colorado will host some recruits, believe it or not, after the departure of coach Karl Dorrell. Three-star safety Adrian Wilson and three-star linebacker Victory Johnson are both in town for official visits when the Buffaloes host Cal.

One interesting development is that Colorado has sent out a number of scholarship offers to kids in the 2024 and 2025 classes, and even some in the 2026 class. So the Buffaloes are trying to capture some momentum after the bye week. Mike Sanford will coach his first game this weekend, but CU is still active in recruiting.

*** Lastly, Washington won’t be hosting any official visits, but there are a couple key out-of-state players coming for unofficial visits. Both are committed to the Huskies: three-star cornerback Leroy Bryant from Fairfield, California, and three-star receiver Keith Reynolds from Adelanto, California, who was one of their first commitments in this class.

Locally, the Huskies will host two of the top-10 players in the state from the 2024 class with three-star cornerback Kyan McDonald and four-star safety Marquawn McCraney.

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